Chapter 3: Ultimatum (part 1)

It happened in the Jewel Voice Room, Parnam Castle.

In this room where the two-meter diameter jewel used in the Jewel Voice

Broadcast floated, there was also equipment for receiving a Jewel Voice Broadcast.

The receivers in each city used equipment installed in fountains to produce mist,

then used water-type magic to reproduce the recorded video, and wind-type magic

to reproduce the recorded sound. The system in this room, however, projected the

image on a piece of equipment that was like a thin, wide tank filled with water.

To differentiate the two, I was calling this one a "simple receiver."

If the fountain receiver was like a theater, you could say this simple receiver was

like a television. The simple receiver produced a clearer image, too. The jewels were

a rare item found in dungeons, so it seemed that it wouldn't be possible to massproduce them, but maybe we could mass-produce these simple receivers. If that

could be arranged, maybe someday families would be able to watch the Jewel Voice

Broadcast in their own homes.

Anyway, let's get back to the story. There were three of those simple receivers set

up in this room.

The three receivers showed the faces of Army General Georg Carmine, who was a

lion beastman, Air Force General Castor Vargas, who was a dragonewt, and Navy

Admiral Excel Walter, who was a sea serpent. I was sure that, on their end, they had

a projection of me and Liscia standing together, too.

"...It's our first time meeting face-to-face like this, huh?" I said. "I am the one to

whom the former King of Elfrieden, Sir Albert, entrusted with the throne, the

provisional king, Souma Kazuya."

"You're..." After hearing me introduce myself, Castor opened his eyes wide in

surprise.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"No, I had heard you were a hero summoned from another world, so I had

expected someone more tough and rugged..."

"Duke Vargas!" Excel interjected, as if scolding him. "If you call yourself a warrior,

you must always show the proper respect to those you deal with."

After Excel's rebuke, Castor meekly gave his name.

"...Right. I'm Air Force General Castor Vargas."

According to my information, Castor was Excel's son-in-law. Perhaps the reason

he was acting more meekly than the personality I had heard for him (a muscle-head)

was because of that power dynamic between them.

"...I apologize for raising my voice just now," the sea serpent said, accompanying

her words with an elegant bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I am

Excel Walter, at your service."

"I am Army General Georg Carmine," the beastman said shortly.

This brought the introductions to a close.

...This lion-faced beastman is Georg Carmine, huh? I thought.

He had a well-built physique that an ordinary guy like me couldn't hope to

compare with, a mane that served to accentuate his manliness, and, lastly, the

shining, fiery eyes of a lion. Even though I was only seeing a video image of him, it

felt like he was right there in the room with me.

I could understand why Liscia had admired him. He had the look of an

experienced warrior.

"Duke Carmine..." Liscia began.

The duke said nothing.

Liscia had let out his name without intending to, but Georg didn't even cast a

glance in her direction.

"I will now issue an ultimatum to the three dukes." In order to keep myself from

being overwhelmed by Georg's presence, I issued this pronouncement in a clear

tone. "In the time since I took the throne, you have all failed to respond to repeated

requests for your cooperation. While it may have been Sir Albert's own idea, I am

sure the suddenness with which the throne changed hands must have played into

that. As such, I will not hold you responsible for not obeying my commands up to

this point. However, if you continue to disregard my orders, I will be left with no

choice but to declare you traitors. I would like to hear your opinions on this."

"I have something to ask you, sire." The first to open her mouth was Excel.

"...What might that be?" I asked.

"What do you intend to do about the three duchies?"

I looked Excel's image in the eye. As might have been expected from a woman

who had inherited the blood of sea serpents, her eyes were endlessly cold, seeming

to stare into the depths of my heart.

"If you obey me... I have no intention of laying a hand on the three duchies

themselves," I said.

She immediately came back with another question. "Then what of the three ducal

armies?"

Her ability to accurately cut to the heart of the matter impressed me.

"...The three ducal armies will be folded into the Forbidden Army to create a new

unified army," I said. "Furthermore, noble fiefs will be forbidden to maintain

personal forces in excess of what is needed for policing. These excess troops will

also be incorporated into the Forbidden Army. In accordance with this, the special

rights afforded to the three duchies for maintaining an army will be abolished. They

will henceforth be treated the same as any other noble fief."

"So that is it, after all..." Excel murmured.

"...You understand what you're trying to do here, right?" Castor said, glaring at

me.

"Castor..." Excel seemed to be trying to rebuke him for his attitude, but Castor

held up a hand to stop her.

"This is important, Duchess Walter."

When he responded with that serious tone of voice, Excel grudgingly closed her

mouth.

Taking it as a sign of acquiescence, Castor looked me straight in the eye and

spoke. "The three ducal armies are a system put in place to prevent the rise of a

tyrant. This is a multiracial state, but the royal family is human. If a tyrant were to

become king and institute policies that favored humans, the other races might face

oppression. In order to prevent that, our predecessors came up with the three ducal

armies. We three dukes of different races support the royal family, but we also

monitor it, so that we can step in and depose a tyrant if it comes to that. Are you

saying you want to destroy that system?"

It was a direct question, so I looked Castor in the eyes and answered. "In times of

peace, that system would be fine, I'm sure. However, the world is full of instability

now. While the expansion of the Demon Lord's Domain to the north has stopped,

there's no telling when that might change suddenly and drastically. The intentions of

the great power to the west, the Gran Chaos Empire, also remain unclear. The Duchy

of Amidonia, who long for revenge on this country, and the Turgis Republic, with

their Go North policy, are actively looking for any opening to seize our territory. The

disputes with the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union to our east over fishing

rights are unending."

I was speaking about the situation this country had currently found itself in. This

country's situation was incredibly unstable. Ordinarily, we shouldn't have had time

for this petty squabbling.

"Look at the situation in the world, Duke Vargas," I continued. "In this unstable

situation, an army with multiple command structures is not going to perform

anywhere near well enough. This is the time to centralize power."

"And what if the center is rotten?" he demanded. "How can you say for certain

that you won't become a tyrant? If we leave the entire army in your hands, who

could hold you to account?"

"If that happens, then come for my head yourself!" I slammed my hands down on

the desk hard, knowing this was where I would have to fight.

In the corner of my eye, I could see the image of Georg, his eyes closed and his

arms crossed. That man... He wasn't about to stop now. However, that only made it

more important that I win Castor and Excel over to my side here.

"I'm only human," I said. "I can't guarantee that I won't turn into a tyrant. Of

course, that said, I have no intention of ever doing anything that would make Liscia

and the others sad."

"Souma..." Liscia said sorrowfully, but I went on.

"I will be dismantling the three ducal armies, but I will promise you positions

within the national defense force. So, if I do become a tyrant, then lead the armies

and stage a revolution, or whatever."

"Talk is easy," Castor said. "If that time comes, wouldn't you move to protect

yourself?"

"There's a political thinker from my world, Machiavelli, who had something to

say about that. 'The best possible fortress is not to be hated by the people.' If the

people are on your side, anyone plotting rebellion will quickly be exposed. On the

other hand, if the people abandon you, you might wait out a rebellion or two by

hiding in your castle, but there will never be a shortage of foreigners willing to assist

a people who have taken up arms against you. If I were to become a tyrant, so

causing the people to abandon me, a rebellion would easily succeed."

Castor was quietly listening to me speak.

Were my words reaching him...? At this point, I couldn't be sure one way or the

other.

Then, Excel spoke.

"I would like to ask one more thing. I hear that you are building a new coastal

city. When that city is completed, what will become of Lagoon City, I wonder?"

Lagoon City was the central city of the Walter Duchy.

I had heard that for Excel and her race, the sea serpents, Lagoon City always

came first. Apparently the sea serpents had been driven out of their former home,

the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, and Lagoon City was the place they had found

to live in peace after many years of wandering, or something like that.

Since I didn't want to incur the wrath of the sea serpent people, I made a point of

explaining myself carefully. "The new city is being planned as a tourist destination

and trade port. Because, from a secrecy standpoint, the tourism industry and a

military port mix incredibly poorly, I have no intention of having the new city

function as a military port. So, Lagoon City will likely continue to serve in that

capacity. I'll generally be leaving the construction of warships to Lagoon City, too."

If Lagoon City was a military port and the new city was a trade port, they would

each have their own distinct role. It should be possible for them to coexist and

prosper together that way. When I explained it like that, Excel nodded in

satisfaction.

"Hearing that has put me at ease. Sire, as of this moment, I, Excel Walter, and the

Elfrieden Navy are at your command. We await your orders."

With those words, Duchess Walter took a knee, swearing loyalty to me as a

vassal. This meant that the 10,000 under Excel's command in the Navy were now on

my side.

"I am grateful for your wise decision, Duchess Walter," I said. "Please, continue to

work for this nation."

"I will."

When Excel placed herself at my service, Georg's expression didn't change in the

slightest and Castor looked on with what seemed like resignation. One more time, I

tried extending a hand to Castor.

"Duke Vargas. Please, lend me your strength for this country's sake."

"...Sorry, but I can't do that."

"Castor!" Excel scolded.

Despite that, Castor shook his head silently. "You seem to have decided you can

trust him, Duchess Walter, but... I can't. I've protected Elfrieden since the time of the

king before the last. I've eliminated foreign enemies, taking territory from them, for

close to one hundred years now. Despite that, why did King Albert not consult us at

all before giving the throne to you, who just suddenly appeared out of nowhere...?"

"Yeah... I'd like an answer to that one myself." Without thinking, I let my true

feelings slip out. Ever since being given the throne, I had worked desperately to

avoid being turned over to the Empire and to save this country from its crisis.

I had been much too busy to think about it, but why had Liscia's old man been so

quick to hand over the throne to me when I had just been summoned? In this

country, a hero was apparently "one who leads the change of an era," but was that

really so trustworthy?

Castor tried asking Liscia, who was standing at my side. "Princess Liscia, do you

know anything?"

"...I'm sorry," she said. "In regards to this matter, my father is insisting he will not

get involved. I asked him to help convince the three of you, but 'Were I to take

action, it would cause undue suspicion. Sir Souma is king now,' is all he would say..."

"...I see."

Castor seemed confused and unable to understand what the former king's

intentions were, but it was the same for me. I had absolutely no idea what he had

been thinking. It was something that made me wonder, but... I knew that I wouldn't

be getting any answers here and now.

I had to focus on persuading Castor. That was what I was thinking, but...

"I just can't bring myself to serve you," Castor said, rejecting me once again.

"Duke Vargas..." I began.

"Don't say any more," he said. "Considering Duchess Walter has agreed to obey

you, I know there must be some merit in what you say. However, I can't imagine

Duke Carmine would oppose you without good reason. If Duchess Walter says she's

siding with you, I'm going to side with Duke Carmine."

It seemed to be a difficult decision for him, as Castor had a pained look on his

face. Once I saw that expression... I knew there was nothing left I could say.

"That's... the decision you've come to, is it?" I asked.

"Yeah. However, it's my decision alone. The ones siding with Duke Carmine are

myself and one hundred of my personal troops. I will not call up the remaining units

of the Air Force. They will remain neutral. If... I am defeated, please, take care of

those I leave behind."

"...I see."

He was acting on the assumption that he would lose. If that was the case... there

was nothing I could say.

"Sire, Castor is..." Excel tried to speak in his defense, but I raised a hand for her to

stop.

"It's no use," I said. "I can't spend any more time on this."

"Urkh..."

I understood how Excel must have felt, but events were already in motion. I

couldn't spend any more time trying to persuade him.